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Umphrey’s McGee Reveals sUMmer school Syllabus

The always fan-friendly Umphrey’s McGee has taken that quality to the next level with the first annual sUMmer school, a five day interactive music camp hosted by the band themselves. Held at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY on August 6-10, the “students” will be offered a wide variety of activities over the five days, with everything from open jams with band members to lessons on the music business appearing on the final syllabus.

Additionally, the band will hold “Improvisation 101” sessions everyday, detailing the intricacies of their improvisational style, along with a live full band rehearsal on Wednesday. If you’re looking for private lessons from individual band members, those will also be held throughout the week along with instrument-specific master classes and workshops on soloing, dual guitar attack, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion, songwriting and music theory. Guitarist Brendan Bayliss will sit down and give some insight into his writing style, so be sure to ask him about the forgotten rarity, “Nachos For Two.”

For those more interested in the business and production side of things, fear not, as Soundcaresser Kevin Browning, FOH engineer Chris Mitchell and lighting director Jefferson Waful will all be on hand for separate sessions throughout the week. Browning and Mitchell, joined by guitarist Jake Cinninger, will host a workshop on recording where they will share recording tips and techniques with campers along with past experiences in UM studio history. Similar to the Q&A with Phish LD Chris Kuroda on Jam Cruise 10, Jefferson Waful will take an hour to explain the ins and outs of his lighting rig. Sessions will also he held on the music business, music technology, and Umphrey’s McGee music history.

In addition to all of these activities, the band will still find time to play some music with a 90 minute “Rock Show” slot scheduled each night. Bassist Ryan Stasik will also continue his Summercamp tradition of hosting a kickball game. Other extra curricular activities include a hike, bonfire, washers tournament and nightly films curated by the band.